Jeff Korbelik

Hank Stuever

Judging only the pilot episode, the banter between them (Dean Winters and Josh Duhamel) can be fun and Gilligan’s influence lends a nice, creepy sheen to the notion that menace lurks anywhere, even (or especially?) in the upper Midwest.

Dorothy Rabinowitz

Robert Lloyd

Battle Creek may be a little low-boil compared to other network mysteries, which I don't account a fault; even when it runs to caricature, it stays convincing. And if it doesn't break any new ground, it nevertheless feels fresh and genuine.

Ellen Gray

Alessandra Stanley

It helps that Mr. Winters and Mr. Duhamel give performances that add some glints of complexity to their surface charm, and that the writers avoid many of the usual clichés. This is an engaging series about a likable bunch of co-workers that isn’t too sweet or predictable.

Tirdad Derakhshani

Vicki Hyman

The cases-of-the-week here are not groundbreaking but some are a bit wacky (death by maple syrup), and Battle Creek promises at least one grand mystery--if Duhamel's FBI agent is such an ace, what did he do to rate a posting in beleaguered Battle Creek? Agnew is chomping at the bit to find out, and so are we.

Ed Bark

Alan Sepinwall

f you go in looking for another "Breaking Bad," you'll be sorely disappointed--even if the second episode contains several visual nods to the work of Heisenberg--but if you're looking for a snappy cop show, you should do okay.

Verne Gay

Shore has written this adroitly enough and Winters and Duhamel are two good and seasoned actors who easily locate what's most endearing, or at least what's most amusing about their respective characters.

Robert Bianco

Russ's obsession with Milt's past overwhelms some of the upcoming episodes, and sentiment derails a few others. Still, the cast is strong, and in a season where so many series (some of them excellent) lean toward the grim, Creek's sunnier approach makes for a nice change.

David Wiegand

Other episodes seem fairly standard fare, entertaining and involving enough on their own, but lacking the offbeat quirkiness of maple syrup drownings. If the “straightforward” episodes weren’t so well written and directed, this could be a problem of consistency, but as it is, the series is fun and only slightly flawed.

Maureen Ryan

Once Duhamel and Winters settle into a rhythm and begin showing more nuanced aspects of their characters, I began to enjoy "Battle Creek" for the light, reasonably well-constructed crime drama that it is, and as the season develops, Shore is able to do a few interesting things with the question of whether people can truly change.

Tim Goodman

Battle Creek works best when it lays on the quirkiness and sputters a bit when it gets too coy or sappy about the crimes the detectives are solving. But the series, thanks to Winters and Duhamel, is very entertaining and kills an hour with ease (as most good CBS procedurals do).

Brian Tallerico

With engaging lead performances by Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters, along with a crisp, witty script, the premiere of “Battle Creek” is entertaining, it just doesn’t feel as essential as the previous programs from its creators

Erik Adams

Think of Battle Creek not as Milt’s tricked out FBI SUV or Russ’ dying compact, but as the car Gilligan once gave Walter White: Reliable, kind of dorky and a little bit funky, Battle Creek is the Pontiac Aztek of cop shows.

Melissa Maerz

Ken Tucker

At its best, Battle Creek reaches for the witty whimsy of another out-of-the-way-location CBS series such as Northern Exposure. But most of the time, Battle Creek just seems like an only slightly jauntier police procedural than the ones that overrun network TV.